Gesture for generalization: gesture facilitates flexible learning of words for actions on objects

Verb learning is difficult for children (Gentner, 1982 ), partially because children have a bias to associate a novel verb not only with the action it represents, but also with the object on which it is learned (Kersten & Smith, 2002 ). Here we investigate how well 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children (N = 48) generalize novel verbs for actions on objects after doing or seeing the action (e.g., twisting a knob on an object) or after doing or seeing a gesture for the action (e.g., twisting in the air near an object). We find not only that children generalize more effectively through gesture experience, but also that this ability to generalize persists after a 24‐hour delay.     

Who's my little monkey? Effects of infant‐directed speech on visual retention in infant rhesus macaques

Both human and nonhuman primate adults use infant‐directed facial and vocal expressions across many contexts when interacting with infants (e.g., feeding, playing). This infant‐oriented style of communication, known as infant‐directed speech (IDS), seems to benefit human infants in numerous ways, including facilitating language acquisition. Given the variety of contexts in which adults use IDS, we hypothesized that IDS supports learning beyond the linguistic domain and that these benefits may extend to nonhuman primates. We exposed 2.5‐month‐old rhesus macaque infants (N = 15) to IDS, adult‐directed speech (ADS), and a non‐social control (CTR) during a video presentation of unrelated stimuli. After a 5‐ or 60‐minute delay, infants were shown the familiar video side‐by‐side with a novel video. Infants exhibited a novelty preference after the 5‐minute delay, but not after the 60‐minute delay, in the ADS and CTR conditions, and a novelty preference in the IDS condition only after the 60‐minute delay. These results are the first to suggest that exposure to IDS affects infants’ long‐term memory, even in non‐linguistic animals.     

Auditory‐motor adaptation is reduced in adults who stutter but not in children who stutter

Previous studies have shown that adults who stutter produce smaller corrective motor responses to compensate for unexpected auditory perturbations in comparison to adults who do not stutter, suggesting that stuttering may be associated with deficits in integration of auditory feedback for online speech monitoring. In this study, we examined whether stuttering is also associated with deficiencies in integrating and using discrepancies between expected and received auditory feedback to adaptively update motor programs for accurate speech production. Using a sensorimotor adaptation paradigm, we measured adaptive speech responses to auditory formant frequency perturbations in adults and children who stutter and their matched nonstuttering controls. We found that the magnitude of the speech adaptive response for children who stutter did not differ from that of fluent children. However, the adaptation magnitude of adults who stutter in response to auditory perturbation was significantly smaller than the adaptation magnitude of adults who do not stutter. Together these results indicate that stuttering is associated with deficits in integrating discrepancies between predicted and received auditory feedback to calibrate the speech production system in adults but not children. This auditory‐motor integration deficit thus appears to be a compensatory effect that develops over years of stuttering.     

Shared musical knowledge in 11‐month‐old infants

Five‐month‐old infants selectively attend to novel people who sing melodies originally learned from a parent, but not melodies learned from a musical toy or from an unfamiliar singing adult, suggesting that music conveys social information to infant listeners. Here, we test this interpretation further in older infants with a more direct measure of social preferences. We randomly assigned 64 11‐month‐old infants to 1–2 weeks’ exposure to one of two novel play songs that a parent either sang or produced by activating a recording inside a toy. Infants then viewed videos of two new people, each singing one song. When the people, now silent, each presented the infant with an object, infants in both conditions preferentially chose the object endorsed by the singer of the familiar song. Nevertheless, infants’ visual attention to that object was predicted by the degree of song exposure only for infants who learned from the singing of a parent. Eleven‐month‐olds thus garner social information from songs, whether learned from singing people or from social play with musical toys, but parental singing has distinctive effects on infants’ responses to new singers. Both findings support the hypothesis that infants endow music with social meaning. These findings raise questions concerning the types of music and behavioral contexts that elicit infants’ social responses to those who share music with them, and they support suggestions concerning the psychological functions of music both in contemporary environments and in the environments in which humans evolved.     

Eating behaviors and emotional distress are predicted by treatment and adverse outcome in patients with type 2 diabetes

Depression and anxiety are hightly prevalent among patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), however not commonly related to outcomes, treatment and comorbidities. Eating behaviors could also have an implication. To evaluate the relation between mood and eating behaviors with demographic, physical, treatment, biochemical profiles and chronic comorbidities in T2D we conducted this exploratory cross sectional study in a population from Mexico. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire Revised 21 (TFEQ-R21) were correlated with age, gender, blood pressure, treatment and comorbidities (nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy and cardiopathy). Multi-linear regression models and 2^k factorial analyses were conducted. Sixty-one patients (31 male) 55 years old (SD 13) with at least 5 years of T2D were included. Anxiety correlated with depression (r = 0.25, p < 0.05). Gender (women) (std B 0.026, p < 0.001), insulin therapy (std B 0.3, p = 0.11), systolic blood pressure (std B 0.263, p = 0.02) and cardiovascular disease (std B 0.232, p = 0.035) predicted depression. Insulin therapy had a positive effect in cognitive restraint. (std B 0.32, p = 0.001). Age (std B 0.37, p = 0.003) and systolic blood pressure (std B 0.237, p = 0.048) predicted positively emotional eating (not previously published). 2^k factorial analyses proved additive interaction between complications and insulin therapy with depression. This study supports the relation between mood disorders and eating behaviors with demographic, physical, treatment, biochemical profiles and chronic comorbidities in T2D and the additive interaction between factors and mood disorders.     

Brief Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depressed Adolescents Delivered by Nonspecialist Clinicians: A Case Illustration

Behavioral activation (BA) can be as effective as cognitive-behavioral therapy for the treatment of depression in adults, but to date there is little research with adolescents. This is problematic given the recognized need to increase access to evidence-based interventions for depression in young people. We have developed a new adaptation of brief Behavioral Activation (Lejuez, Hopko, Acierno, Daughters, & Pagoto, 2011) specifically for young people: Brief BA for depressed adolescents. In this paper, we use a case example with session-by-session measurement to show how a nonspecialist clinician can deliver this intervention successfully. We discuss the key themes arising from this training case, challenges the clinician faced, and how these were managed through training and supervision.     

Emotion suppression and reappraisal associated with bullying involvement and other social outcomes in young adults

The ability to regulate emotions appropriately and effectively is important in maintaining positive social interactions and outcomes. The current study investigated the association between the habitual use of suppression and reappraisal, and involvement in bullying in high school. Other social outcomes, such as current social satisfaction and support, were also considered. Two hundred and nine first-year psychology university students (mean age 19.13 years, SD?=?1.523) completed online questionnaires. Results demonstrated that suppression was associated with greater retrospective reports of victimisation during high school and lower current social satisfaction and support, even when controlling for general affect. Reappraisal was mostly found to be unrelated to bullying and social outcomes, with only one association existing between higher reappraisal use and better social satisfaction, which was no longer significant when controlling for affect. The findings extend on previous research by demonstrating a negative association between suppression and involvement in bullying.     

Affective and cognitive religiosity: Influences on consumer reactance and self‐control

Self‐control is regularly studied in the marketing literature in relation to spending and food consumption; however, little research has assessed trait characteristics that influence consumers' self‐control. Although prior research in other fields has shown a generally positive relationship between religiosity and self‐control, such research has often used poor measures of religiosity and has inadequately examined marketplace outcomes or factors underlying consumers' self‐controlled responses. Thus, the studies herein build on self‐regulation theory to address and extend from these limitations by examining the influence of religiosity, as a multidimensional construct (particularly affective and cognitive religiosity), on self‐control and resulting influences on marketplace behaviors. Findings reveal that priming affectively (cognitively) religious consumers leads to greater (lower) consumer self‐control with a religious message prime (Study 1) and religious writing task (Study 2). Additionally, findings show that psychological reactance is at the root of these responses (Study 3). Implications build on self‐regulation theory and the strength model of self‐control to show the importance of religiosity (particularly affective and cognitive religiosity), interactions with religious primes, and psychological reactance in understanding consumers' self‐control.     

Bullies,blades, and barricades: Practical considerations for working with adolescents expressing concerns regarding gender and identity

ABSTRACT

Background: Adolescents, by their very nature and need for maturity, struggle with issues of the self and identity, while challenging the very systems that are there to support them. However, gender diverse adolescents may become detached and overwhelmed as a trans identity solidifies during this time. Bullies, blades and barricades describes the challenges, hardship and dispossession that some gender diverse adolescents face from interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts, societal pressure and hostility.

Method: This paper utilizes the current research on safety and risks affecting trans youth, the authors clinical experience of trans and gender diverse adolescents, and recommendations in the literature for professional care and support of gender diverse adolescents to identify the various ways gender diverse adolescents are negatively affected by their experiences.

Results: Bullying is not limited to school or peer environments and may be present in adolescents' homes, in local communities, in professional services or from sources of information such as the media. The physical dangers gender diverse adolescents face may arise from victimization, violence or rejection, or self-harming behaviors due to negative beliefs, fear or frustration. Barriers preventing disclosure and expression of gender and/or identity may stem from negative experiences, rejection, pubertal changes, imposed limitations, dependence upon school, home or legal environments, or other spheres of influence.

Discussion: Affirmative approaches, individual focus, recognition of family dynamics, inclusion of significant others, advocacy in school and local community environments as well as professional training are the most commonly recommended interventions. This paper provides an inclusive review of the myriad of challenges confronting gender diverse adolescents including often unrecognized forms of pressure, oppression and restrictions. This paper aims to support clinicians by contextualizing the adversity that gender diverse adolescents face and offers strategies for engagement and intervention.     

Creation and Implementation of an Environmental Scan to Assess Cancer Genetics Services at Three Oncology Care Settings

An environmental scan (ES) is an efficient mixed-methods approach to collect and interpret relevant data for strategic planning and project design. To date, the ES has not been used nor evaluated in the clinical cancer genetics setting. We created and implemented an ES to inform the design of a quality improvement (QI) project to increase the rates of adherence to national guidelines for cancer genetic counseling and genetic testing at three unique oncology care settings (OCS). The ES collected qualitative and quantitative data from reviews of internal processes, past QI efforts, the literature, and each OCS. The ES used a data collection form and semi-structured interviews to aid in data collection. The ES was completed within 6 months, and sufficient data were captured to identify opportunities and threats to the QI project’s success, as well as potential barriers to, and facilitators of guideline-based cancer genetics services at each OCS. Previously unreported barriers were identified, including inefficient genetic counseling appointment scheduling processes and the inability to track referrals, genetics appointments, and genetic test results within electronic medical record systems. The ES was a valuable process for QI project planning at three OCS and may be used to evaluate genetics services in other settings.